Eng-Avatar-Character Development

There are three moments that noticeably illustrate how much Jake has
changed as a character .
1. Jake’s and Quaritch’s discussion about Jake’s initiation into the
Omaticaya clan
2. Jake’s attempt to stop the bulldozers
3. Jake’s address to the Omaticaya people
Lighting:
Whenever there were scenes of Jake in his human form, both in his Avatar
link and when he was speaking with Quaritch, the lighting was quite dark.
The low key lighting showed the inner conflict within Jake. Since he had
grown to like the Omaticaya people, he did not want to go along with
Quaritch’s plan and harm them. The low key lighting could also highlight the
fact that Quaritch was dangerous, especially with all the Intel he received
from Jake, which he felt guilty about giving.
Dialogue:
Quaritch: “It’s time to come in… by the way, you’re gonna get your legs
back.”
Jake: “I gotta finish this. There’s one more thing. A ceremony. It’s the
final stage to becoming a man.”
Quaritch offering Jake his “real legs” was the only thing that motivated
Jake to go to Pandora and give Intel to Quaritch, but yet he was insistent
on taking part in the final ceremony of the Omaticaya. This was because
Jake actually cared for the Omaticaya people and wanted to spend more
time with them. If he was able to take part in the final ceremony, that
would allow him to become one of “The People” and he would feel like he
belonged somewhere. Getting back his legs was the last thing on his mind.
Camera Angles:
At the start of the film, Quaritch would always look down on Jake, but that
changed later on halfway through the film. Instead of high angle shots, there were
more eye level shots, so we saw Quaritch and Jake on the same level. This showed
that they had a strong bond between them and that they were on the same side.
However, when Jake started caring for the Omaticaya people, his relationship with
Quaritch started to fall apart. Near the end of the film, we saw Quaritch looking
up at Jake from low angle shots. This meant that Quaritch was afraid of Jake as
he could stop his plan to destroy Hometree. Since Quaritch realized that Jake had
changed from his side, he asserted his power by standing up.
Costume:
In earlier scenes in the film, Jake wore army clothing, even when he was in
his Avatar body. This showed that Jake was loyal to Quaritch and would do
anything he said, like giving him all the Intel he needed. However, Jake’s
view on the Omaticaya people changed. He felt he belonged to them more
and was one of “The People”, that is why he started dressing like the Na’vi.
Jake had completely pushed away the human outlook and had become more
Na’vi. This clearly showed changes in Jack’s view of the Na’vi as the film
progressed.
Before
After
Camera Angles:
As Jake climbed to the top of the bulldozer to smash the camera, they
were face to face. That eye level shot showed that Jake and the machine
were on the same level now. That was because Jake got angry with them as
they were destroying the Omaticaya land. This is quite different compared
to the beginning of the film. Low angle shots were taken instead to make us
look up at the machines from Jakes point of view, so he looked quite weak
and small compared to them.
Before
After
Camera Angles:
An over the shoulder high angle shot was taken when we saw Jake deliver
his speech to the Omaticaya people. We usually do not see Jake as the most
superior, but in that scene we do. That means he has started to become a
leader. Jake was desperately trying to save the Omaticaya people from the
“sky people”, so he wanted to give an important speech to save them. Since
he was seen higher than the audience, the scene showed the importance of
Jake’s speech and his leadership quality. As we were looking over Jake’s
shoulder, we realized that he was in charge of so many people’s lives.
Dialogue:
“This? This is OUR land!!!”
“My brothers! Sisters!”
Jake has had a complete change of heart. When he said “our land”, it
showed that Jake thought of himself as being part of “The People”. It also
showed that he had created a bond with the Na’vi land and since the land
was so important to the Omaticaya people too, the land was a medium for
Jake to connect with the Na’vi. This was different from the start of the
film as he did not realize how important the land was to the Omaticaya
people, but now he does. When Jake said “brothers” and “sisters”, he was
creating a link with the Na’vi and thought of them as his family.